Wileyfox Swift - worth a punt?

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Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
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Guys,
Noticed the Wileyfox Swift crop up on the 'best budget android phones' lists.
I noticed there were a few threads on here but nothing too recent.

I'm looking to swap from my Samsung Galaxy S3 to something else.
Had looked at getting a refurbed Nexus 5 but then stumbled on the Wileyfox.

There's also £20 cash back at the moment on it too so looks a bargain at £110.

How have people found these?

Only thing I can't find is the best way to transfer stuff across if I got one.
Is there an App or bit of PC software that can do this?

What should I be aware of if I went for it?

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
quotequote all
Cheers guys.
No major rush but if I can get £20 back I'll probably do it this month.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Thursday 10th March 2016
quotequote all
Charging cable issue doesn't sound too good.
Is there a decent aftermarket one that works well?
The lead that came with my Nexus 7 looks to have a long micro connector.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Wednesday 16th March 2016
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Taken the plunge and ordered the Swift.
By the time I sort the cash-back out should only cost me £95....

Just need to order a case for it now!

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Monday 21st March 2016
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Well finally got my hands on the Swift Saturday afternoon after a couple of missed delivery notices.

Love the simple packaging:





Comes with pre-installed screen protector:


Love the rear cover - nice logo and a orange accent around the camera:


It was really simple to set up - just put your Google account details in and away you go!
Even gives a list of your play store apps and lets you select which ones to download and install during set up - pretty neat!

The layout & menus etc. are very similar to those found on the Nexus tablets and phones - basic uncluttered android.

The phone doesn't come with many pre-installed Apps - just those necessary to make it function.

Seems pretty quick and nice to use - screen is responsive and not experienced any lag issues yet - even when downloading my Amazon music library and looking at Facebook & other stuff.

Camera isn't too bad - but not really played around with it that much yet though, so hoping a couple of tweeks might improve things.

Supplied charging cable works a treat - even if it is a bit short.... My Samsung charger won't fit securely as it's connector is a tiny bit shorter than the supplied cable, but the cables for the Nexus fit well. Have ordered a couple of additional cables that have been recommended as fitting well.

Battery seems to have a decent life too - went all day yesterday with data switched on and using the camera and a couple of other things and was still around 60% when I got home around 6'ish.

Build quality feels nice although it does feel light compared to my Samsung S3.

So far so good.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Monday 21st March 2016
quotequote all
Will probably pop back to this in a week or so and update once I've had chance to get to grips with it a bit more.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Monday 21st March 2016
quotequote all
Will do.

Also forgot to say that the Wi-Fi reception seems way better than my Samsung.
There's a 'black spot' in the kitchen at home where the Wi-Fi doesn't appear to cover - not with the swift though!

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Friday 22nd April 2016
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I've had the Swift for just over a month now, so thought I should do an update.

Well, I have to say that I'm impressed.

I've got most of the paid for Apps that I had on my Samsung and this thing flies!
Haven't experienced any issue with it being laggy or hanging.
The UI seems fairly easy to get round and is very similar in layout to the standard Google flavour Android on my Nexus 7.
Some of the additional security features and individual App profiles are pretty cool.
I like the standard Truecaller dialler - fantastic! The fact that it ID's potential spam calls is pretty clever and that you can 'back trace' by putting a number in is also quite clever.
Standard SMS app is also pretty good but I have a minor gripe with it in the fact that you can't assign individual message tones to recipients (you can assign ringtones but not message tones).

My Samsung charger wouldn't stay in the socket so I ordered a couple of these:
Ebay USB Charging Cable
Quality isn't brilliant (not as good as the standard cable) but they fit the recessed charger socket better.

Battery lasts all day during the week - usually around 30 - 40% remaining when I go to bed around 23:00'ish.
Usual daily usage sees the mobile data on all day and used for face-ache, forums, emails and a bit of music on the 40 minute commute to/from work. And a bit of the same during the working day.
Weekends I can actually get 2 days out of the battery.
This is in complete contrast to my Samsung which even when new struggled to get the end of the day and recently needed charging around lunchtime as it would be down to around 50%.

Camera isn't too bad - still using the stock App and have played around with the settings a bit, but might install a different App and see how it performs.

The stock browser is pretty good - and since Chrome has gone weird with the tabs I've stuck with the stock one as it means I can close the browser but still keep my tabs.

Screen quality is what you'd expect for the proce point I suppose - it's no Samsung SuperAMOLED but it's still reasonable and HD (720) is more than enough.

My only gripe is with the cashback offer - the retailer I purchased from is no longer listed on the 'qualifying retailer' list. No real biggy as I only paid £115 instead of £129rrp - but would have been nice to finally bag it for £95!
Still at £129 I think it's still a bargain.

I bought a cheap £2.99 case off Ebay which also seems to do the job quite well. Still waiting for the 'official' case to become available - seems to be permanently out of stock.

For the price I think it's brilliant.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Wednesday 4th May 2016
quotequote all
With general usage over the last 2 days and only turning Wi-Fi/data off over night I managed to get 37 hours out of the battery.

Pretty impressive.

I'm going to see if I can stretch it even further by only turning on Wi-Fi/data when I need it.

Woody

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

285 months

Wednesday 4th May 2016
quotequote all
I couldn't get any cash back as they removed the retailer form the list after I'd purchased.
Wasn't too much of an issue though as I hadn't paid full price anyway.